Breast cancer ISN’T pink..and other stories

When I first pinned a pink ribbon on myself, it was October 2004 and I had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. I felt that pinning on the pink ribbon was a symbol of solidarity with all the other women with breast cancer, and I wore it proudly. Six years later, the pink ribbon has come to represent something quite different in my mind.

Let me start with the most recent post I have read on the pinkification of breast cancer from Jody Schoger’ s Women with Cancer blog. Jody sets out her view from the first line of her excellent post with her clear statement: “There’s nothing pink about cancer”. I know what she means!

“When I think pink for cancer awareness what comes to mind is My Little Pony or the color of bedrooms where little girls dream sweet dreams”, write Jody.

The reality is very different.

Cancer appears in sentences with words like lymphatic, salvage therapy or necrotic. I’ve seen necrotic tissue once. Once was enough. It wasn’t pink.

Pam Stephan touches on the same subject this month in her breast cancer blog with the interesting story of Gayle A. Sulik, a medical sociologist, who did eight years of research analyzing advertisements, breast cancer awareness campaigns, and interviews with survivors. She wanted to see if the “branding of breast cancer” with the pink ribbon and the resulting pink culture had many any difference. Had it brought us any better results – a reduction in cases of breast cancer, a better survival rate, more effective treatments, research that discovered the cause or the cure? Sulik put her conclusions together in a book, “Pink Ribbon Blues: How Breast Cancer Culture Undermines Women’s Health.”

Last year, I too wrote a post on the subject of pink-washing, as I was becoming increasingly more uncomfortable with the commercialisation of the pink ribbon movement. Think Before You Pink, a project of Breast Cancer Action was launched in 2002 in response to the growing concern about the overwhelming number of pink ribbon products and promotions on the market. Think Before You Pink highlights “pinkwashers”—companies that purport to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon campaign, but manufacture products that are linked to the disease. The campaign calls for more transparency and accountability by companies that take part in breast cancer fundraising, and encourages consumers to ask critical questions about pink ribbon promotions.

Now, none of this is meant in any way as a criticism of those who are wearing pink ribbons; part of me still sees it as a symbol of solidarity and I grateful that the movement has brought breast cancer out of the dark ages when it was taboo to even mention the words “breast cancer” aloud. Awareness and support are good things and I am not advocating that we abandon it entirely. It is just I’ve now come to believe, in the words of Paula who left a comment on yesterday’s post that “While the pink ribbon has done a monumental amount to raise awareness of breast cancer, it’s just such a shame that it is so often used and abused for commercial gain, undermining the work of genuine efforts.”

I am with Gayle Sulik when she writes “this is not a condemnation of anyone who finds meaning in the ribbon or public events. It is a call to broaden the discussion, re-orient the cause toward prevention and life-saving research, and acknowledge the unintended consequences of commercialization, festive awareness activities, and the lack of evidence-based information that makes its way to the public.”

Perhaps the best way to finish this post is by sharing with you Luann’s observation:

Guess it is like Hallmark commercializing Christmas and other holidays just to make a buck. We need to look underneath the layers to get the true meaning.

I think the key thing is to be mindful of why the ribbons exist. As you point out, the whole movement has done a lot to lift the taboo on breast cancer. Fifty years ago we would not have been having this discussion!

I have to admit that while it is great to see October as a breast cancer awareness month and highlighting the disease and the prevention of same, I have been a little uncomfortable with seeing so many pink products for sale and seeing so many featured in magazines etc. Yes, it raises money for research etc but is it a little like the charity Christmas cards when actually about 6p from the price of £5.00 goes to the charity? I like the expression above on hallmarking it! I’m sitting on the fence on this one I have to admit but interesting to see everyone’s viewpoints on it.

I agree with John that BC is over funded and we are over aware of the movement! Meanwhile the the cancers that kill people faster, the less “trendier” cancers get very little attention in popular media, and therefore get very little funding.

Thank you! Thank you for highlighting this! This topic makes me positively pink with rage every October and don’t get me started on the facebook rage of posting awareness updates on your wall…i cannot imagine for one second that this does anything but demean the whole awareness movement. Please stop buying into this!

The first time I read the term ‘pink washing’ was last week on Facebook. I agree it’s always annoying to see big brands stealing something that is about community from us.

However the initial post I read… and I wish I could find it now was also getting upset about the status update meme on Facebook. I for one think that the meme was good specially for women like myself who do need to be reminded to check our breasts. The meme reminded me and although it wasn’t money generating it was raising awareness.

So true! It drives me beyond crazy that the big cosmetics companies use breast cancer as a publicity tool, when the oestrogen laden chemicals in their products are quite likely one of the causes of breast cancer!!!!

Referring to Jody’s observation on the pinkness of the pink ribbon movement, I so agree with her. I feel the colour with its sickly sweet connotations demeans the seriousness of this disease which claims so many lives each year.

In reference to Alan’s comment, I too have pancreatic cancer and every pink ribbon I see reminds me of how much more support and research goes to breast cancer patients than everyone else. Pancreatic cancer certainly has a much less vocal survivor’s network, as they are few and far between.

The worst for me is pink ribbon branding on wine! I mean for goodness sake – alcohol is a factor in breast cancer – you may not want to hear it, but it is true. What next? Pink ribbon branded cigarettes, with a percentage of profits being donated to cancer research, of course.

I think that the very reason that “pink” is so pervasive, is the sex-y factor of the pink ribbon and breast cancer awareness. Celebs such as Kylie Minogue and Christina Applegate have done a lot to bring this about. Not dissing these girls and I am glad to see they have survived, but enough already with the pink onslaught!

I don’t have a problem with wearing the pink ribbon. As you said Marie, I see it as a sign of solidarity too. What I do have a problem with however, is so many products using an image of a pink ribbon to increase their profits. How do we know how much if any of the proceeds they claim are going to bc research actually do? More accountability and transparency is called for.

Thank you for this though-provoking post. I am sickened by the cheapening of the pink ribbon movement by its commercial overuse — often by companies that are using it for image more than really supporting research and treatment.

I applaud you on your post and those of your fellow BC bloggers.I believe that instead of facing the difficult facts that breast cancer is most likely caused by the toxins in the environment and our food we’re bombarded with pink ribbon propaganda! Let’s call a halt to the madness!

I am so happy to hear I am not alone in this. Not being touched by breast cancer myself nor have any of my loved ones, I thought I was just cynical. But reading that breast cancer survivors agree with me on this is heartening.

Thank you for this thoughtful post! I think you probably know my take on it by now, but one thing I think is important to remember: my criticism of the pinking is for the exploitative companies, not the people who purchase them.

Delighted that you expanded on this Marie and thank you for quoting me! Funnily enough I used to wear a lot of pink especially during the time of my diagnosis and treatment seven years ago, not sure if that was a subconscious thing or not but I never wear it anymore. And I stopped wearing my pink ribbon a few years ago for the same reasons as you. I too would like to see more funding and awareness for other types of cancer. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of the breast cancer clubbiness that exists where the subscription fee is a breast cancer diagnosis!

I left Ireland a few months ago to be with and try to support my mother while she battled breast cancer. I can only speak from that perspective. I actually like pink- along with most every colour- but I don’t like products promoting themselves with the breast cancer support label, whatever the colour; it just seems false. I tried to nurture my mother and bring small, everyday, joys in to her life during this time. I display a pink ribbon on a cupcake as my profile picture in October as a very personal memory of her journey; she was so depressed, but the one thing she actually enjoyed was my cooking healthy meals for her, along with the sweet treats that really brought a smile! But do I want to BUY ‘breast cancer awareness’ cupcakes? NO! If a company wants to support a charity, donate; don’t use it as a selling tool.

I can totally see your point of view and as Belinda said earlier there are also so many ribbons for everything that you do kind of zone out.
I also don’t like the facebook status posts about where people hang their handbags….I don’t see how this raises awareness of breast cancer.
Reading blogs like yours does raise awareness, so well done.

Terrific comments everyone. Seems like a hit nerve! And just to reiterate again – I don’t have a problem with the pink ribbon as a symbol – wear it with pride, if that is what you want to do – but do be aware that accountability and transparency is also called for. Perhaps it is time to call a halt to proliferation of companies using the symbol as a cyncial marketing exercise.

Wow, Marie! You sure have prompted many comments. Thanks for bringing up the topic. I may be in the minority here, but I am grateful there is so much attention being paid to breast cancer. I admit that I’m sick of pink by the first week of October and it annoys me that companies are profiting from it but …

As someone with metastatic disease, I want a cure and if it means that KFC has a “breast cancer bucket” so be it. I roll my eyes at the affiliations and will not buy products that I believe cause cancer, but I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth. I like the pinkwashing campaign because it asks us to only support those companies that legitimately give to the cause. I think Alan makes a good point; there are people with diseases like prostate cancer that would love all this attention and funding.

Thanks Marie – thought-provoking article and responses. I think there are 2 issues here – awareness and fund-raising. I’d like to quote my cousin who posted the following recently on FB:

‘It’s breast cancer awareness month. Are you aware of inflammatory breast cancer? As well as ovarian cancer this was what killed my mother. Didn’t show up on mammograms, was inoperable and untreatable. She said she would happily remove both her breasts if it meant she could live longer. Don’t care what colour your bra is or where you put your purse. Do a self check, go to the doctor, get a mammogram.’

In a later comment, she said, ‘I don’t mean to be strident, I just think if we’re having an awareness month we should actually be made aware of stuff.’

It is vitally important we receive accurate and relevant information on the risks of any type of cancer and I fully support any campaign that puts informing and protecting people at the heart of their message.

But the commercialisation of cancer for public concern kudos is beyond cynical. I was recently watching an ad for ‘Vanish’ stain removers and at the end of the ad, the pink ribbon donation – I thought, ‘What the hell has stain removers got to do with this?’

I guess the only way to address the problem is to let companies know what we think of these tactics – don’t buy the products or contact them directly. Whatever your feelings about the colour pink, the ribbon is a potent symbol of hope and I’d like to see some regulation of its use.

If these companies had to apply for permission to use the symbol, demonstrate their products are in no way connected to the disease and partake in an ongoing education programme rather than a short-term cause of the moment campaign, perhaps it would help restore pink ribbon power?

I think the part that bothers me most about pink-washing is that it is done generally for the sake of awareness. Point taken. We saw, we know it exists, we check ourselves. Perhaps its time to raise awareness of male breast cancer and make that an easier topic of discussion.

Another touchy topic for me that comes up this month every year is raising money for breast cancer research. Don’t get me wrong, I want you to donate if you can. Your donations may very well lead to the next cure-all drug for men and women of the future, but what if you have breast cancer now? What if you need treatment now? In times likes these, people with breast cancer need more than just a new drug to make them nauseous, lose their hair, etc and hopefully clear the cancer. These men and women need support and programs to help them through. Why aren’t we funding more for the sake of supporting our loved ones through these physically and emotionally distressing times?

I have never had cancer. I agree 100% that it’s important to be made aware but at this point I think the pink ribbon campaign has become so over marketed that I ignore it. Seeing a pink ribbon on a product will not make me buy that product. I would rather put my money where I KNOW it will go to good use in fighting this horrible disease, not in some company’s pocket where they are making a profit off of a “pink campaign”.

While there are some great, healthy products that give money back to breast cancer research & are good for survivors, my real problem with Breast Cancer Awareness month is “it’s” narrow focus.

Because Komen has been so successful greasing the big cure wheel, advertisers and the media are all to eager to follow down Komen’s donation path. Where’s the awareness for newly diagnosed patients, guiding them from point of diagnosis, to finding their new normal? Where’s the information to keep husbands from fleeing, often leaving young children to become their mothers’ primary caregivers?

The current Breast Cancer Awareness mentality has created an even wider gap between the search for the cure and the all to human side of becoming a healthy survivor with your family intact.

I wish I had the time and money to support a ‘Goodbye Pink’ campaign. Yes, breast cancer needs to be funded, but so do other types of cancers and other illnesses. Football players wearing pink? Really? Why not wear a rainbow of colors to support various types of cancers and too bring attention and funding toward them. Did you know that when someone has breast cancer she automatically qualifies for Medicaid, but if someone has lung cancer, lukemia, or a brain tumor he/she just about needs to hire an attorney to get approved? These may all be good steps that were taken for breast cancer, but what about now? Maybe only a few people are sick of the pink, but next year, how many more will be sick of seeing it and giving toward it. With a strong foundation of supporters, it would do the foundation well to change the focus from pink only to a rainbow of cancer research.

Does this mean say I have prostate cancer and it’s in the last curable stage and a woman with just discovered only-existed-for-a-day breast cancer comes in after me the breast cancered one will get the cure sooner? If so. Men have every reason to be cynical. I’d say that “gender equality” is screwed in the bollocks.

". . .and the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and JOYFUL, by which we arrive at the ground at our own feet, and learn to be at home."
Wendell Berry